Influence of Machining Parameters on the Tensile Strength of Finger-Jointed High-Density Black Spruce Lumber

Finger-jointed softwood lumber is widely used in manufacturing of structural or nonstructural applications such as glued laminated lumber and prefabricated wood I-joists. Black spruce is the most frequently used species for finger-jointed engineered wood products in eastern Canada. However, some key machining parameters must be adjusted according to the properties of the wood to obtain a surface quality suitable for the finger-jointing process. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of cutting speed and chip load on the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of finger-jointed high-density black spruce. The variables were four cutting speeds and three chip loads. A feather profile was selected with an isocyanate adhesive and an end-pressure of 3.45 MPa. A factorial analysis showed a statistically significant interaction between cutting speed and chip load on UTS and cutting speed was the most significant variable. The influence of chip load on UTS was lower, apparent only at 3260 m/min cutting speed. Suitable finger-jointing could be achieved at 1860-3960 m/min cutting speed with a chip-load of 0.51-1.27 mm. However, the best result was obtained at 3260 m/min cutting speed and 0.89 mm chip load. These results need to be validated in industrial mills to verify tool wear behavior

Renormalization of Non-Commutative Phi^4_4 Field Theory in x Space

In this paper we provide a new proof that the Grosse-Wulkenhaar non-commutative scalar Phi^4_4 theory is renormalizable to all orders in perturbation theory, and extend it to more general models with covariant derivatives. Our proof relies solely on a multiscale analysis in x space. We think this proof is simpler and could be more adapted to the future study of these theories (in particular at the non-perturbative or constructive level).Comment: 32 pages, v2: correction of lemmas 3.1 and 3.2 with no consequence on the main resul

Parametric Representation of Noncommutative Field Theory

In this paper we investigate the Schwinger parametric representation for the Feynman amplitudes of the recently discovered renormalizable $\phi^4_4$ quantum field theory on the Moyal non commutative ${\mathbb R^4}$ space. This representation involves new {\it hyperbolic} polynomials which are the non-commutative analogs of the usual "Kirchoff" or "Symanzik" polynomials of commutative field theory, but contain richer topological information.Comment: 31 pages,10 figure

Carbon Speciation and Solubility in Silicate Melts

To improve our understanding of the Earth's global carbon cycle, it is critical to characterize the distribution and storage mechanisms of carbon in silicate melts. Presently, the carbon budget of the deep Earth is not well constrained and is highly model-dependent. In silicate melts of the uppermost mantle, carbon exists predominantly as molecular carbon dioxide and carbonate, whereas at greater depths, carbon forms complex polymerized species. The concentration and speciation of carbon in silicate melts is intimately linked to the melt's composition and affects its physical and dynamic properties. Here we review the results of experiments and calculations on the solubility and speciation of carbon in silicate melts as a function of pressure, temperature, composition, polymerization, water concentration, and oxygen fugacity

Relaxation of nonlinear oscillations in BCS superconductivity

The diagonal case of the $sl(2)$ Richardson-Gaudin quantum pairing model \cite{Richardson1,Richardson2,Richardson3,Richardson4,Richardson5,Richardson6,G audin76} is known to be solvable as an Abel-Jacobi inversion problem \cite{SOV,Kuznetzov,Kuz1,Kuz2,Kuz3,Kuz4,Kuz5,YAKE04}. This is an isospectral (stationary) solution to a more general integrable hierarchy, in which the full time evolution can be written as isomonodromic deformations. Physically, the more general solution is appropriate when the single-particle electronic spectrum is subject to external perturbations. The asymptotic behavior of the nonlinear oscillations in the case of elliptic solutions is derived

Theoretical determination of the Raman spectra of MgSiO3 perovskite and post-perovskite at high pressure

We use the density functional perturbation theory to determine for the first time the pressure evolution of the Raman intensities for a mineral, the two high-pressure structures of MgSiO3 perovskite and post-perovskite. At high pressures, the Raman powder spectra reveals three main peaks for the perovskite structure and one main peak for the post-perovskite structure. Due to the large differences in the spectra of the two phases Raman spectroscopy can be used as a good experimental indication of the phase transition.Comment: 16 pages, submitted to Geophysical Research Letter

Asymptotes in SU(2) Recoupling Theory: Wigner Matrices, 3j3j Symbols, and Character Localization

In this paper we employ a novel technique combining the Euler Maclaurin formula with the saddle point approximation method to obtain the asymptotic behavior (in the limit of large representation index $J$) of generic Wigner matrix elements $D^{J}_{MM'}(g)$. We use this result to derive asymptotic formulae for the character $\chi^J(g)$ of an SU(2) group element and for Wigner's $3j$ symbol. Surprisingly, given that we perform five successive layers of approximations, the asymptotic formula we obtain for $\chi^J(g)$ is in fact exact. This result provides a non trivial example of a Duistermaat-Heckman like localization property for discrete sums.Comment: 36 pages, 3 figure

Dicamba Resistance: Enlarging and Preserving Biotechnology-Based Weed Management Strategies

The advent of biotechnology-derived, herbicide-resistant crops has revolutionized farming practices in many countries. Facile, highly effective, environmentally sound, and profitable weed control methods have been rapidly adopted by crop producers who value the benefits associated with biotechnology-derived weed management traits. But a rapid rise in the populations of several troublesome weeds that are tolerant or resistant to herbicides currently used in conjunction with herbicide-resistant crops may signify that the useful lifetime of these economically important weed management traits will be cut short. We describe the development of soybean and other broadleaf plant species resistant to dicamba, a widely used, inexpensive, and environmentally safe herbicide. The dicamba resistance technology will augment current herbicide resistance technologies and extend their effective lifetime. Attributes of both nuclear- and chloroplast- encoded dicamba resistance genes that affect the potency and expected durability of the herbicide resistance trait are examined